England captain Steph Houghton after losing 1-2 to Japan in World Cup semi-final. Image:@England
The England women’s team earned the respect of world football in Canada by matching the holders Japan throughout the match and going down to a very late goal after hitting the woodwork three times.
The first half was a story of two penalties.
A Claire Rafferty foul after 30 minutes gave Japan the advantage with a penalty Aya Miyami efficiently converted.
But England countered with an attack that earned the Lionesses a penalty at the other end of the pitch.
Fara Williams produced a clean strike to the right of the goalkeeper.
It was 1-1 at half time in Edmonton.
In the second half England headers and shots at goal rattled the woodwork.
Toni Duggin was so close on 63 minutes.
But it was a cruel later winner for Japan on 90 minutes when a Laura Bassett own goal put the holders into the final.
#UPDATE Laura Bassett weeps after scoring an own goal - Japan beat England 2-1 at World Cup u.afp.com/ZJLq http://t.co/Ow8Fy2vi3T
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Agence France-Presse (@AFP) July 02, 2015England will play Germany to fight for third place.
Their performance in this year’s World Cup has substantially raised the profile of women’s professional soccer.
This is the narrative of the match from @England’s Twitter feed.
HERE THEY COME! Our #Lionesses are led onto the pitch by #ENG skipper @stephhoughton2. We are 90 minutes away from the #FIFAWWC final.
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England (@england) July 01, 2015CLOSE: Jodie Taylor fires just wide after less than a minute #Lionesses
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England (@england) July 01, 2015CHANCE! @toni_duggan fires over from the edge of the area with a fierce strike. #Eng 0-0 #Jpn 23min
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England (@england) July 01, 2015PHOTO: #Eng midfielder @fara_williams47 battles with #Jpn's Yuki Ogimi for the ball #Lionesses http://t.co/6VjNfmnipF
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England (@england) July 01, 2015PENALTY: #Jpn awarded a penalty after a foul by Claire Rafferty, who is booked.#Lionesses
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England (@england) July 01, 2015GOAL: JAPAN 1-0 England. Miyama pen. 32min
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England (@england) July 01, 2015PENALTY to England!!!
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England (@england) July 01, 2015PHOTO: #Eng's @fara_williams47 celebrates after levelling against #Jpn with a penalty of her own #Lionesses #FIFAWWC http://t.co/7mtF3EDNBa
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England (@england) July 01, 2015Here is how fans in London reacted to @fara_williams47 penalty #Lionesses #ENG
amp.twimg.com/v/4af24026-a1b…
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England (@england) July 02, 2015More on goal: @stephhoughton2 down under close attention following a corner, and @fara_williams47 struck firm to keeper's right #Lionesses
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England (@england) July 01, 2015HT #JPN 1-1 #ENG #FIFAWWC #Lionesses
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England (@england) July 01, 2015Second-half about to restart. #England a good 45mins from a @FIFAWWC Final!!! Come on you #Lionesses!!! #Eng 1-1 #Jpn http://t.co/HVPuqBgUME
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England (@england) July 01, 2015CHANCE: @LucyBronze peels away at the far post but is unable to direct @stephhoughton2's long free-kick on target #Lionesses 1-1 55min
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England (@england) July 02, 2015WOODWORK: @toni_duggan turns quickly and rattles the crossbar from the edge of the area! #Eng 1-1 #Jpn. 63min
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England (@england) July 02, 2015CHANCE: England again! @ellsbells89 picks up on the D, turns and forces a fine diving stop. 64min #Eng 1-1 #Jpn #Lionesses
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England (@england) July 02, 2015PHOTO: @toni_duggan pulls the trigger with a strike for #Eng against #Jpn #FIFAWWC #Lionesses http://t.co/C28Nlkig3b
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England (@england) July 02, 2015WOODWORK: @clrafferty1's deep left-wing cross drops on to the crossbar and out for a goal-kick. #Lionesses
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England (@england) July 02, 2015PHOTO: @JillScott12 drives forward in search of an #Eng winner against #Jpn #FIFAWWC #Lionesses http://t.co/6g8Fo9Q53O
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England (@england) July 02, 2015GOAL: #Jpn 2-1 #Eng. Bassett 90og. #Lionesses
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England (@england) July 02, 2015FT #Jpn 2-1 #Eng. #Lionesses
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England (@england) July 02, 2015#Eng to play #Ger in the @FIFAWWC third-place play-off on Saturday
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England (@england) July 02, 2015Heartbreaking! #ENG didn't deserve that! Had the better chances. Hit woodwork 3times and competed with World Champions stride for stride!
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Faye White (@faye_white) July 02, 2015England 1-2 Japan: @FIFAWWC semi-final match report from Edmonton by @laveryglenn the-fa.com/nHz9ED
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England (@england) July 02, 2015Full reaction from @England boss @Mark_Sampson following the cruel 2-1 defeat to #Jpn here #Lionesses #FIFAWWC : the-fa.com/X0T2aJ
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England (@england) July 02, 2015Not the result we deserved tonight and its absolutely heart breaking but I have never been prouder of this team and these players #lionesses
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Casey Stoney (@CaseyStoney) July 02, 2015Categories: Football, International, Sport
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